I Had The X Factor.. 25 Years Ago
Discussion
Very good programme. It was fascinating to see just how much the "double act" guy depended on show business and nothing else could ever be a substitute. I wondered whether there was more to the story about Billy (?) losing "everything". It didn't look like it was that long ago, but he seemed pretty comfortable. Generous friends, but he'd have needed to make a few quid to pay them back. He seemed like a nice guy though. I suppose he could be a success off the stage in management or something.
There have been talent shows on TV from almost the very beginning. From the 1950s right into the 1970s. Opportunity Knocks was one of the biggest TV shows - with bigger audience figures than X-Factor receives today.
Despsite the thousands of acts that appeared on the show and the hundreds who actually won it, only a handful went on the achieve lasting fame - the most famous probably being Les Dawson.
Despsite the thousands of acts that appeared on the show and the hundreds who actually won it, only a handful went on the achieve lasting fame - the most famous probably being Les Dawson.
LuS1fer said:
there were plenty who went on to find fame from these programmes.
Lena Zavaroni, The Real Thing, Berni Flint, Cannon and Ball, Marti Caine etc.
The difference was these acts had been doing the clubs and come up the hard way, not the chancers who turnup on X-Factor.
There were plenty of "chancers" back then too. Howerer, the old Working Men's Club circuit was a definite provider for these shows. That circuit is almost completely vanished now so it is much harder for new acts to gain the practical experience of gigging in front of an audience.Lena Zavaroni, The Real Thing, Berni Flint, Cannon and Ball, Marti Caine etc.
The difference was these acts had been doing the clubs and come up the hard way, not the chancers who turnup on X-Factor.
And I would argue that most of the acts you mentioned above did have a limited shelf life. The comedians (Marti Caine and Cannon and Ball) did the best. Singers tended to be one or two hit wonders before fading off the scene.
I'd partly agree with that. The singers really lacked the support and Lena Zavaroni was too young and boy, they voted for the child stars back then. The Real Thing had four strong singles, including Number 1s but to be fair, the shelf life of groups in the 70s was only about 4-5 years anyway.
A sad statistic I read recently was that something like 75% of touring singers/bands in the UK were now over 60.
Come to think of it, I think Freddie Starr was the spawn of one of these talent shows and certainly les Dennis and his ill-fated other half came up that way too. I think Larry Grayson did too.
A lot of the old performers also came through the holiday camps as redcoats (Bob Monkhouse and I think Ted Rogers).
A sad statistic I read recently was that something like 75% of touring singers/bands in the UK were now over 60.
Come to think of it, I think Freddie Starr was the spawn of one of these talent shows and certainly les Dennis and his ill-fated other half came up that way too. I think Larry Grayson did too.
A lot of the old performers also came through the holiday camps as redcoats (Bob Monkhouse and I think Ted Rogers).
LuS1fer said:
I'd partly agree with that. The singers really lacked the support and Lena Zavaroni was too young and boy, they voted for the child stars back then. The Real Thing had four strong singles, including Number 1s but to be fair, the shelf life of groups in the 70s was only about 4-5 years anyway.
A sad statistic I read recently was that something like 75% of touring singers/bands in the UK were now over 60.
Come to think of it, I think Freddie Starr was the spawn of one of these talent shows and certainly les Dennis and his ill-fated other half came up that way too. I think Larry Grayson did too.
A lot of the old performers also came through the holiday camps as redcoats (Bob Monkhouse and I think Ted Rogers).
There's no doubt the old club "circuit" was a great moulder of talent and professionalism.A sad statistic I read recently was that something like 75% of touring singers/bands in the UK were now over 60.
Come to think of it, I think Freddie Starr was the spawn of one of these talent shows and certainly les Dennis and his ill-fated other half came up that way too. I think Larry Grayson did too.
A lot of the old performers also came through the holiday camps as redcoats (Bob Monkhouse and I think Ted Rogers).
Nowadays, a lot of acts do their "training" on TV.
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